The Silence of the Lambs house where Buffalo Bill lived will soon have a new owner after six potential buyers made offers on the lovely home — with a large basement — in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania.
The four-bedroom, one bathroom property — where Buffalo Bill, aka Jame Gumb (Ted Levine) faced off with Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) — was offered for just under $300,000. To answer your questions, yes, it really does have a big basement, and no, there isn’t a hole in it. But the cold storage room where Buffalo Bill and Clarice had their final pitch-black confrontation still looks pretty much like it does in the film.
“We received 6 offers and it’s under contract and scheduled to close on November 30,” realtor Eileen Allan told MovieMaker. She did not provide further details.
Also Read: 11 Silence of the Lambs Details You Probably Missed
The home, built in 1910, has original details and gorgeous hardwood flooring. The grubby old kitchen in Silence of the Lambs where Clarice asks about murder victim Frederica Bimmel — and Bill/Gumb chillily responds, “Oh waaaait. Was she a great big fat person?” — has been tastefully modernized.
While the cinematic history of the house is undeniably its biggest talking point, the updated interiors also highlight how thoughtful design choices can completely transform a space without erasing its character. The rich wood tones of the restored floors, paired with modern finishes, create an inviting warmth that contrasts sharply with the home’s chilling on-screen past.
Such transformations often start with the right materials, and working with experienced flooring suppliers in surrey can make all the difference when aiming to achieve a balance between authenticity and comfort. By carefully selecting textures and finishes that complement a property’s history, homeowners can create interiors that feel both timeless and refreshed, turning even the most infamous settings into beautiful, livable spaces.
You can decorate the house, or not, as Ted Tally describes it in the Silence of the Lambs screenplay: “Overstuffed furniture, porcelain figurines. One archway onto the front hall, another onto a dining alcove, and through there, the kitchen.”
And there’s plenty of room for all your lotions, baskets, and baskets full of lotion. Also, in case something happens to your little dog, precious, we checked and there’s a veterinarian just a mile away.
Attention to detail, whether in selecting finishes, maintaining textures, or highlighting architectural features, ensures that the property remains inviting and functional without losing the essence of its past. These kinds of renovations show that even homes with notorious histories can be reimagined as warm, livable spaces, where design choices create harmony between authenticity and modern lifestyle needs.
This approach to housing mirrors the philosophy behind bespoke homebuilding, where every decision—from layout to material selection—is tailored to the needs and tastes of the residents. The expertise of custom home builders Sydney comes into play here, allowing homeowners to design properties that reflect personal style while maximizing comfort and functionality. By integrating both practical and aesthetic considerations, these builders create homes that are not only visually appealing but also optimized for everyday living.
Just as the Silence of the Lambs house was transformed into a space that feels welcoming despite its cinematic notoriety, working with skilled builders ensures that new or renovated homes become enduring spaces where comfort, style, and individuality coexist seamlessly.
The home is the setting of the climax of one of the the greatest movies of all time. Silence of the Lambs is one of only three films, along with It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, to win all give major Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. And it’s the most recent of the three films.)
The home is about an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh, a wonderful movie town that has also doubled for Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises, and is in a lovely stretch of a state that recently decided a historic presidential election.
In the video tour they made to promote the home, realtors Allan and Shannon Assad leaned into the home’s Silence of the Lambs connection, and showed aerial shots of its beautiful neighborhood, with plenty of backyard space and trees:
Here’s the video tour of the Silence of the Lambs house:
Realtor.com said the Buffalo Bill house occupies a generous 1.75 acre lot and was on sale for $298,500.
Pittsburgh station KDKA said Buffalo Bill’s Silence of the Lambs house previously sold in 2016, when PETA expressed interest in turning it into a museum “where visitors would be allowed to wear the skins of abused animals.” It’s great that PETA understands that Silence of the Lambs is, at its core, about empathy — not freakish murderers.
Silence of the Lambs, the greatest movie ever, is now streaming on Netflix. Above: Ted Levine as James Gumb, aka Buffalo Bill, answers the door of the house.